3. constantly evaluate
It is easy to get into a routine and lose sight of how your guests see your rental and how they experience their stay. It is important to read reviews and listen to complaints and suggestions. There is always room for improvement and room to make more money
After a few weeks of operation, it is always a good idea to reevaluate your pricing, amenities, cleaning procedures, or anything else that comes up. If you are booked well in advance and are getting 5-star ratings on all areas, including value, you may be able to raise your prices.
If you are getting five stars on everything except value, it may be time to lower your prices, offer a few more amenities, or redecorate.
Price and value
We have one unit that gets lower value ratings than the others. Even though it still has a five-star value rating, it gets four stars more often than the others. It is in the same building, has similar furniture, and the exact same amenities than our other units have. While our other units support higher prices during high season, this unit’s value rating always suffers when we raise the price to match the other three units.
We redecorated in 2015 and our value ratings went up for about two years. Lately, however, the value ratings are decreasing. We considered whether to redecorate again or provide free parking (we usually charge for the parking spot, since it is in high demand), but ended up realizing that some units just do not make as much as others.
Cleaning
You should be able to evaluate your cleaning procedures and arrangements a few weeks into your business. Try to improve scheduling problems and think about adjusting your cleaning charges.
If you are getting anything below five stars on cleaning, the issue should be addressed immediately. If you are doing the cleaning yourself, read your reviews and try to pinpoint exactly what it is you are doing wrong. Think about hiring a professional service and charging your guests for it.
We started out without charging for cleaning and doing it ourselves. When we started outsourcing the cleaning, we charged our guests a lot less than what we were paying the cleaning service. (We were charging $35 for cleaning and paying $50-75). We started raising our cleaning prices, but only when we had over 30 five-star cleaning ratings in a row for each unit.
Laundry can often be one of the most difficult aspects of running an Airbnb business. It is a lot of work and can often be too expensive to have done outside your home. If your local dry-cleaner/launder-mat has a wash and fold service that is sensibly priced, you may want to consider it.
Sometimes having the right sheets and towels can make all the difference. If you are doing the laundry yourself, experiment with several sheet sets until you find something you like.
Laundry
Furniture
When a piece of furniture is simply not working—a rug that collects too much dirt and always looks shabby, a sofa that keeps getting stained, a table in a hallway that keeps getting knocked down—it is important to replace or repair it right away. You don’t want to continue to get negative reviews or complaints and begin to lose guests and money.
Providing a few extra amenities like high-end coffee, an assortment of teas, or a nicer set of bath products can help you raise your value rating. Sometimes a few dollars will go a long way.